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Lily never got her explanation. Instead she was awoke by James at a quarter after one, his concerned face filled her vision. "Love, are you alright?" he questioned, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Fine…" That's when she felt dampness of the bed beneath her. She threw aside the covers, relief swelled inside her when she saw that her t-shirt was merely wet and not blood soaked.

"Are you sure?"

She rubbed at her eyes and then she felt the pain throughout her body, she reached for James. "I think I'm going into labor…"

"What?" Immediately he hopped off the bed and raced around the room trying to get ready.

"Relax…" Lily swung her legs over the side of the bed and sat there before grabbing her wand.

"You packed a bag already, right?" He scoured the room while hopping, one leg already in his pants and the other flailing around. Lily used her wand to get a dress and and exchanged her t-shirt for that before shoving her feet into a pair of sandals.

"Yes, but it's hanging on the hook in the entryway."

"Do you need help?"

"No…." She bent over and clutched her stomach as another contraction began. "Yeah, that would be peachy."
James managed to laugh despite the situation. Even while under distress his wife could maintain her cheeky attitude. It took much bickering, odd movements and locating their random items before James was ready to apparate with her. If he had not been trained to apparate with an injured person she might have been skeptical.

Lily thanked Merlin that they arrived to the clinic without any incidence. They stumbled through the door when the woman at the desk tried to stop them, but realized what was happening. "I'll get you settled in, the Healer is with another patient at the moment."

A contraction caused Lily to grit her teeth and strangle James' hand. The woman moved bit faster at that and quickly gestured them into a an empty room. She struggled through it a bit before a potion was offered up and the world became fuzzy…

The next few hours remained a blur in Lily's mind, but they remained clear to James. He stayed beside her for most of it until the Healer ushered him out. Even in the hallway he could hear Lily's slurred voice. He paced up and down the hall, running a hand through his hair. No one knew they were there and they had been here for a few hours. He should send a message to his father or Sirius…

"James, are you alright?" a familiar voice called out to him. Frank. He looked equally as tired, but his eyes conveyed an expression of pure joy.

"Frank, what are you doing here?"

A smile crossed his exhausted face and James immediately understood. James held out his hand and clapped him on his shoulder. "Congratulations, Lily is in there now…"

"Let's sit down, it will be a while."

"What about Alice?"

"She and Neville are sleeping, I don't want to go home yet and I can't stand to sleep on that chair for another moment." He laughed and shook his head. "Would you like to see him? I used to think that newborn babies looked like Mandrake roots, but he's perfect…"

A crooked smile crossed James' face.

"Is there something on your mind, Potter?" Frank teased, pushing the younger man's shoulder.

"Sirius and my father don't even know. Lily would probably want me to send word to Marlene and Athena."

"I'll do it."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"Please, just go sit with Alice. I'll let the Healer know where you are and she can get you if something happened."

James looked longingly at the room where his wife was. He could hear her sounds of pain, and he wanted to be by her side. He flashed back to seeing her on the ground in Hogsmeade, how she looked so beautiful and so broken at the same time. Reluctantly he moved his feet towards the direction where Frank had pointed. The room, like all the others, seemed to light despite the windows drawn shut. He decided it was early to mid morning. Alice lay flat on the bed, her chest rising and falling, dark gold hair strewn across the pillow. A tiny bassinet held the newborn, only a few hours old. When James walked by he saw plump cheeks, the scrunched mouth and the pinkish face. There a few tufts of black hair that stuck up.

He took a deep breath and sat down in the chair that was against the black wall. He leaned his head back and rested his eyes. The room was strangely silent. The only time he ever found silence was at home, even that seemed rare as Lily and him could hardly ever seem to agree on anything.

"James," he heard a bit later. He popped up and realized that the lights were now on. Alice was standing by the cot, now wearing a loose dress. "Sorry to wake you up."

"It's fine. Is Frank back? He was sending word to people, but he may have just apparated."

"No, but I don't think you've been awake long. I heard Frank leave." She pushed back a lock of hair from her face before walking over to the bassinet. "Have you met Neville?"

"I saw him, but no."

A smile crossed her face as she lifted the child into her arms. She looked down and then up at James. Before she could say anything there was a knock and the door opened. "Mr. Potter, I know we sent you out, but your wife wants you there."

"Is she alright?"

"As good as can be expected, come on."

James followed her and followed the procedures for entering the room as quickly as he could. He went with the Healer through the side door and the only thing he could see was Lily's face, scrunched up in pain. Face and hair were sweaty as she gripped the sheets.

"Hey."

"I hate you." She reached out and grabbed his hand tightly. "I don't think I can do this."

"You're almost done," the healer said. "Just keep going."

She turned to James and used her other hand to hold it as well, clenching as tightly as she possibly could. There was a short shout of pain, silence, then crying. Lily opened her eyes and looked at him.

"You have a son," the Healer said. "We're going to clean him up and then bring him back."

"Now, just give him to us," Lily insisted. "I need to see him."

The Healers looked at each other and then wrapped the baby in what appeared to be a towel before handing him to Lily. "What's his name?"

"Harry," she answered. "Harry James Potter." She looked down at the baby that anyone else might have called ugly. His skin was all wrinkled and a reddish-pink, eyes scrunched shut and a few straggly strands of black hair that stuck straight up. "Do you want to hold him?"

James held out his arms and smiled at that boy in his arms. "I think he's perfect. He'll make a great Chaser."

"James," Lily said. "Let him reach his first birthday before you start training him to be a Quidditch player."

He looked a bit closer at the boy before handing him off to the Healer. Lily leaned back against the pillow and shut her eyes, while James accioed a chair to sit beside her. He too closed his eyes and got comfortable. He must have dozed off again, because then Lily was shaking him with her free hand while Harry nestled himself in her arms. The door opened and in walked their family. Charles led them with a smile on his face, followed by Sirius and then Marlene with Athena.

It was amazing how a singular event could bring everyone together and allow them to forget everything. Eventually they moved and the Healers allowed Alice and Lily to share a room. Their beds were usually separated by a large spatial difference, but today they were separated by two bassinets. Both boys slumbered soundly despite the number of people in the room.

"I"m proud of the two of you," Charles said as he looked over the child. "Agatha would be too." He reached for Lily's hand and passed her a wide smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. She couldn't recall the last time he saw a true smile, but he had came close when he held his grandson. "I didn't know your parents, but I have a feeling their feelings would be equal to mine."

Lily looked up at the ceiling, trying to stave off tears. James stepped a bit closer, placing an arm around her shoulder before kissing her temple. She turned to face him and then saw Sirius scooping their son out of his bassinet. He scrunched up his face, but Sirius immediately started to sway with a smile on his face. Marlene watched for a bit, but then started making funny faces at Harry.

James grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly, his dark eyes meeting her bright ones. She knew that they both wished the same thing. They wanted nothing more than to be able to live in this moment. However, they knew it wasn't possible and instead hoped for peace. They both hoped their son would never have to feel the pain of unnecessary loss. They hoped that their war would not carry over into his world.